Fuel and travel costs are pushing prices up again
Thursday 5 November 2026
Inflation has risen to 3.1%, meaning everyday spending is getting more expensive just as household budgets are already under pressure.
Market concentration
How much of a market's sales or activity is accounted for by its largest businesses.
What it means
A market is concentrated when a small number of firms account for a large share of its sales. You can measure this by adding the shares of the biggest few firms. You must first decide what market to count: for example, all grocery shops in the UK or grocery shops within a particular town. A high share held by a few firms may give them more influence, but it does not prove prices are unfair or that competition is weak; customers' alternatives and the ease with which new businesses can enter also matter.
Example
In a made-up town, two supermarkets together make £80 of every £100 spent at supermarkets there. Their combined share is 80% of that defined local market. The figure says nothing by itself about online shopping or stores outside the town.
Why it matters
It helps identify markets worth examining more closely, while showing why national figures may miss local choices.
Related terms
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Barriers to entry
Obstacles that make it hard for a new business to start competing in a market.
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Market power
A business's ability to influence prices or conditions because customers or suppliers have limited alternatives.
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Monopoly
A market with only one seller of a particular good or service and no close alternative for buyers.
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Oligopoly
A market in which a small number of businesses make most of the sales.
Read more
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News
Highlights from about the UK economy, the UK government and the UK public sector.
Mortgage relief will have to wait a little longer
Wednesday 4 November 2026
Interest rates are staying at 3.75%, so households with mortgages and other borrowing may have to wait longer for costs to come down.
Energy bills are going up as winter approaches
Wednesday 4 November 2026
A higher energy price cap means many households will be paying more to heat and power their homes during the colder months.
Guides and insights
Analysis
Clear, accessible analysis of the economic issues shaping everyday life
Living standards
What does a day’s work buy?
Comparing the cost of everyday life across generations, from bread and beer to buying a home.
Food & prices
The journey behind your grocery bill
How farming, energy, transport and supermarket competition shape the price on the shelf.
Prices & inflation
Inflation is falling. What happens next?
What slower price rises mean for wages, purchasing power and economic recovery.
Shared prosperity
What would shared prosperity look like?
Beyond GDP: how we could measure economic success through security, opportunity and living standards.
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